1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrode line for connection to an implantable heart stimulator, such as a cardiac pacemaker or a cardioverter/defibrillator. In particular, the present invention relates to a terminal part for such an electrode line.
2. Description of the Related Art
Implantable heart stimulators of the type cited are fundamentally known in various embodiments. Heart stimulators of this type typically have a sealed housing, which comprises a power supply and further electronic and electrical components to generate stimulation pulses or defibrillation shocks and deliver them to one or more chambers of a heart via an electrode line or to acquire and process electrical potentials in the heart. For this purpose, such implantable heart stimulators are typically connected to electrode lines, which are plugged using a terminal part at the proximal end of the electrode line into a socket in a so-called header of the particular heart stimulator. Both the terminal part and also the socket in the header of the heart stimulator have electrical contacts corresponding to one another to produce an electrical connection between the heart stimulator and the electrode line.
Accordingly, the terminal part at the proximal end of the electrode line has electrical contacts which are connected to terminal lines, which produce at least a part of an electrical connection to stimulation and/or sensing electrodes in the area of the distal end of such electrode line. Such electrode lines are typically flexible (i.e., bending) and are known in manifold embodiments.
The terminal part relevant here is of the type which has multiple annular contacts of equal external diameter and corresponds to the future standard IS-4. A variant of a terminal part of this type is described, for example, in US 2005/0221671.